Zed's Dishonest Mate (13 page)

“No more secrets,” Zed said.

Luka looked into Zed’s eyes and cried. The guilt made him an emotional mess. “I’m sorry,” he began to say, but stopped trying to find the words.

“We start fresh. I want the truth.”

Luka wanted to tell him, but he smiled and nodded. The words didn’t come. Why couldn’t he just be honest? He was scared that Zed wouldn’t want a child, a child that had vampire, elf and human blood.

Zed headed downtown. Normally, he ignored the Council’s summons, refusing to jump because a group of men decided that they needed something. After a single shrug and shake of the head, Zed would put the order out of his mind. If the Council wanted to see him, they could make an appointment. It’s not like he was hiding.

This time was different. Somehow King Kane discovered the location of his missing son and demanded the prince’s return, as if that was going to happen.

Yesterday, he sent Kane a short and simple response to his demand. The note written in his handwriting read, “fuck you.” After decades of not seeing the elf king, the last few months had been torture. He liked it better when Kane terrorized his own people and left Zed alone.

They hadn’t even finished discussing the first issue, and he used the word “discussing” loosely, pertaining to the land surrounding the Vortex and now this. Because of the seriousness of the charges, Zed demanded an arbitrator. An arbitrator handled disputes between territory leaders and they were hard to find. After a few years of service, an arbitrator either left for another position or disappeared. No one talked about the ones that vanished, but nasty rumors always followed a disappearance. In the end, no one wanted to work for the Council.

Twenty years ago, six arbitrators served the Council and now only two. That’s how far things had fallen. Hopefully, the arbitrator elected by the Council could handle the situation in a fair manner. Unless a law was broken, the Council didn’t get involved. If the arbitrator deemed a law broken or if the arbitrator’s orders were not followed, the Council stepped forward.

Knowing King Kane like he did and the way the elf twisted the truth, Zed demanded an arbitrator. Normal disputes were handled through negotiations, but his mate’s life wasn’t going to be negotiated. Luka was his and the small elf could make his own choices. He wasn’t a piece of property but a person. Today, Zed would make sure everyone knew it.

King Kane might rule his own territory, but he couldn’t force apart fated mates. He walked into the building and straight to the arbitrator’s office. Not even a corrupt arbitrator would rule against him. A mated pair was untouchable in the supernatural world.

Shortly after he arrived, Roman walked through the door.

Zed smiled at the glare Kane gave the demon. He called Roman to show that he had the support of another territory leader. It was a bit threatening to have them both here, but it sent a powerful message.

“Roman Walker, this is a closed meeting,” King Kane said.

“I invited him. He’s a possible witness,” Zed replied. Kane didn’t like dealing with Roman. For some reason, Kane hated demons. He never treated Roman with respect, but he kept his distance and only badmouthed him out of earshot range.

The arbitrator sat down. Zed had requested the other arbitrator, an owl shifter. Unfortunately, Kane beat him to it. Before he had a chance to speak with the Council, the arbitrator had been assigned. There was no way he would believe the elf arbitrator could act in a fair manner.

Owen Lincroft did have a reputation of being fair, a person not easily swayed by others. No one had ever complained about his previous cases. He had long white hair and deep, blue eyes. Wrinkles covered his forehead and a long beard covered his face. The arbitrator looked innocent enough, but looks could be deceiving.

The arbitrator looked around the room with his small eyes, staring at both Zed and Kane with a look of disgust. Zed smirked. If the arbitrator hated him, at least he hated Kane too.

Owen cleared his throat. “This meeting is to decide the fate of Luka, son of the elf King, Kane,” the arbitrator said in a bored tone.

“No,” Zed interrupted. “That needs to be changed. Luka is now my mate. A full mating precedes all previous relationships.” Zed let the words sink in before continuing. “I request this meeting be adjourned. King Kane has no right to interfere with our mating. Luka is mine.”

“Impossible. Luka isn’t mated. Zed lies to keep my son a prisoner. If anything happened between the two of them, I assure you it was against my son’s will. Luka is a victim.”

Zed’s cold glare bore into Kane. “I can assure you that Luka is very much mated. We are fated. I am willing to swear to that if necessary.”

“I refuse to accept the mating. He isn’t allowed to be a vampire’s whore.”

“Watch your language. You’re talking about my mate.” Zed’s glowing red eyes stared at Kane like the elf king was a roach that needed to be squashed. His teeth pushed out, ready to rip the elf king’s throat apart for disrespecting Luka.

“If he spread his legs for you, then he’s nothing but a whore.”

Zed stood.

Roman placed a hand on the vampire prince’s shoulder. “I have something to add. There’s been bad blood between the vampire and elf territory leader. Instead of looking at this in a negative way, we should rejoice. Mixed supernatural race matings are more common than they were before. I can also attest to Zed and Luka’s mating. The fates have joined them. We can’t interfere.”

The arbitrator looked at both Zed and Kane. “Our rules are clear. A mated couple can’t be forced apart under any circumstance. Your petition is denied.” The arbitrator stood, ready to leave and go about his life like the last few minutes were nothing but a nuisance that kept him from important duties.

Zed had to agree. The meeting was a complete waste of time.

“Wait. We haven’t even spoken to my son. How do we know that this is what he wants? I demand for him to be brought here to testify.”

Zed growled. “I will not have my mate involved in these political games. If the arbitrator wants to speak with Luka, then that’s fine. Of course, I will be present. But you will never see my mate again. That is unless he wishes it, and that’s not something he wants.”

“Prince Zed, King Kane can demand for your mate to be present during the proceedings. He can also demand for the arbitrator, that’s me, to verify the mating. You will need to bring the prince in to answer a few questions.” Arbitrator Owen moved his hand over to the pen and started to write out the order.

“Normally, I would agree. Luka doesn’t want to see King Kane. The man physically abused and tortured him for years. I request that you speak to my mate in our home.”

The arbitrator looked toward King Kane. “Have you abused the prince in anyway?” Owen gazed directly at Kane. “Remember, any lie spoken to an arbitrator will lead to immediate dismissal as a territory leader.”

“Luka needed a heavy hand. He’s too wild and now he’s fucking a vampire.”

“Is that how you justify torturing him?” Zed spat out.

“Enough,” the arbitrator ordered. “I’ll speak with the elf prince at Prince Zed’s residence. Unless Prince Luka states otherwise, then he will remain with his mate.”

Owen turned to look at King Kane. “I don’t believe in hitting or hurting a child under any circumstance. If only a little of what Prince Zed says is true, I will make sure you never see Luka again.”

King Kane turned toward Zed. “This isn’t over, Zed,” he spat out before walking out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

“That went well,” Zed said. “I want it noted that King Kane’s final words bordered on being threatening.”

“That will go down on record. Now, when can I meet the prince?” the arbitrator asked.

“How about tomorrow night after sunset?” Zed offered.

The arbitrator pulled out a book and opened it. “I’m free. The sooner the meeting happens, the sooner it ends. No offense, but there’s a lot more important things to deal with.”

Zed nodded. He had to agree.

“Zed, I’m heading back. Let me know what happens after the meeting.”

He nodded at his longtime friend. He turned back to the arbitrator—the man that thought he would decide Luka’s fate. There was only one acceptable answer. He nodded before turning away. Zed thought of home and then Luka. He stood inside of his living room after he teleported across the city. Luka ran over and threw both arms around his waist.

Yavin and Bishop walked over.

“Well?” Bishop prodded.

“Zed, they cheated,” Luka said, pointing at the other two. He studied his mate. The smaller man was trying to delay the giving of information. Luka had a tendency to ignore the truth.

Bishop laughed. “Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean we’re cheating.” He turned back to Zed. “What happened at the meeting?”

Luka squinted. He reached down and picked up a strawberry, sucking the fruit into his mouth. He licked his upper lip in a seductive way before sucking on each finger, cleaning off all the juices.

“What are you doing?” Zed demanded. A part of him understood that his mate didn’t want to deal with reality, but Zed didn’t like the obvious attempt at seduction in front of the others. Both Yavin and Bishop looked away, pretending not to notice.

“Eating.” Luka pealed the banana and started playing with the fruit like it was Zed’s hard cock. “It’s really good.”

Yavin cleared his throat. “I’m on duty downstairs.”

“Both of you get out,” Zed ordered.

Both vampires wasted no time getting out of the apartment. They jumped up and ran for the door. He looked at his mate as Luka started to unbutton the top buttons of his bright, sky-blue shirt. “Is it getting hot in here?”

“No, the temperature is fine.” He leaned against the wall, waiting for his mate’s response.

Luka looked up. He shrugged his shoulders. “Really, my balls are sweating. Maybe I should have worn underwear.”

Zed groaned and closed the distance between them. “You do like playing with fire.”

“Oh Zed. I only like playing with your fire.”

Zed pushed Luka up against the wall. He ripped the shirt open. Buttons popped off and part of the material ripped. He pushed the shirt off his mate’s body. Why his small lover liked bright colors was beyond him.

He pushed down Luka’s pants. The man’s cock popped out. “You really didn’t put on underwear.”

“I did it for you. Easier to strip me and have your way with my body.”

“Oh, I’m going to have my way with you.” He pushed Luka face down on the table. He pulled off his mate’s pants and then squeezed his ass before pulling his butt cheeks apart. Zed leaned down, licking the quivering hole. He felt his own thick shaft harden as Luka groaned.

“In my pants pocket is lube. Hurry and get it.”

Zed laughed. “So you were prepared to seduce me.” He pulled away from Luka and looked for the discarded pants. He reached into the pocket and found the lube. He looked at Luka and raised both eyebrows.

Luka laughed. “Maybe I’m just hopeful.”

Zed opened the lube. “You’re such a liar. You planned to seduce me, and waited for my fat cock to pound into your tight ass.”

“Yeah, I confess.” His mate licked his lips. “Can we start the pounding?” Luka pushed out his ass.

Zed smiled. He pushed one finger past Luka’s sensitive opening. Luka moaned and pushed back.

“You just fucked me a few hours ago. Hurry and get on with it.”

Zed leaned forward. “I love it when you demand my cock, but you need to learn patience. You’ll get it soon enough.” Zed pushed in a second finger. He pounded his fingers in and out of Luka’s ass. The man bit his fist to keep from crying out. Satisfied that his mate was ready, he pulled out his fingers.

He lubed up his cock and shoved it into his mate’s waiting hole. Luka groaned as Zed plunged in and out of the tight heat. “I like to hear you.”

“Really, then fuck me harder.”

Zed slowed his thrusting. He pulled almost all the way out until only the tip rested inside of Luka. His mate moaned and Zed smiled. He slammed his hips forward and then pulled out again, repeating the hard thrust.

“You’re killing me.” Luka pushed back.

With his hands on the table he threw his body back. Zed pulled out and turned Luka around. Luka’s back pressed into the table and Zed spread his mate’s legs apart and slid between the creamy thighs. He pushed the elf’s ankles up until they rested on his shoulders. He looked directly into Luka’s lust-filled eyes and sank his cock into his mate’s waiting body. He pounded his lover over and over again as he reached between them and stroked Luka’s hard cock. Luka lasted less than a minute. He tilted his head to the side as Zed bit into his long, pale neck before exploding inside.

Luka panted, trying to catch his breath. He shivered as the cold hit his sweaty body.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Zed pulled Luka up, but his mate’s legs couldn’t support his body. He picked Luka up and carried him to the bathroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Luka nodded. Zed wiped up and down his mate’s leg, cleaning every inch of skin.

“What happened?” Luka asked in small voice.

Zed rubbed his mate’s leg. Finally, the small elf was ready to talk about it. He cleaned himself up and led them to the bed. He pulled his mate down and then against his body. “The arbitrator is coming to talk to you tomorrow.”

Luka sat up and looked at Zed. “Can he make me go back?” His mate couldn’t hide the fear in his voice.

“You’re never going back. Besides, we’re fully mated. No one can separate us. What do your visions say?”

Luka rubbed his stomach. “My visions show us being very happy.”

“Then trust your visions and trust me. Okay?”

Luka calmed a little, but Zed still felt the small elf’s heart pounding inside of his chest. He’d help his mate learn to trust.

Luka paced back and forth. The room, larger than most living spaces, wasn’t big enough for the small elf trying to work off the nervous energy. The world’s longest runway wouldn’t have been big enough. Zed told him over and over again not to worry, but there were too many possibilities of things going wrong. He couldn’t relax. He felt like a can of soda shaken until it was about to explode.